It was an exercise in resilience.
After three days of rain, things weren’t so much up in the air for the local cross country scene as they were under water. The Glory Days Invitational was called off, Bull Run Regional Park was flooded. The golf course at Georgetown Prep was too soft and slippery, but coach Greg Dunston was adamant about holding the meet. Teams were coming from Delaware and Chicago to race.
Pacers New Balance Cross Country Tour Podcasts from the Georgetown Prep Invitational on Oct 12, 2013
Segment #1Â Race Introduction with podcast hosts Chris Farley of Pacers Running Stores & Johnny Cakes Auville from the Sports Junkies
For the second week, the federal government shutdown is forcing relocations and and cancellations for races planned for National Parks Service property. No specifics have been made public about contingency planning for the Army Ten-Miler and Marine Corps Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 20 and 27, but both races declare they will be run on those days.
The Boo! Run For Life 10k Sunday will be cut to a 5k, starting at 7:30 a.m. and moved to the National Building Museum from its usual location in West Potomac Park, where it will be run concurrently with the  Run to Remember.
Name:Â Dustin Renwick
Self-described age group:Â 30-34
Running in first-year races can be a roll of the dice sometimes.
Planned water stops can disappear. The course distance can be off, or markers point you in the wrong direction.
The Marine Corps Marathon will debut a registration lottery in 2014, a year after frustrations with registration management service Active caused thousands difficulty while they tried to register.
As announced in this year’s race guide, the lottery will open Feb. 23 and close March 15, and runners selected for the race will be notified March 19. The marathon has agreed to a multi-year contract with Race IT to manage registration.
Everything is supposed to hurt during a marathon.
Right?
The federal government shutdown had been light on runners for two days, but Wednesday night saw a flurry of decisions that impacted weekend racing schedules, with the postponement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon and the Run! Geek! Run! 8k. The Ragnar Relay will see a few legs altered, but the Army Ten-Miler and Marine Corps Marathon late this month claim they will not be affected, according to race officials who have not provided any details.
Though runners have largely had their run of National Park Service land since Tuesday morning, with vehicle traffic closed on Rock Creek Park’s Beach Drive and most of East Potomac Park’s Hains Point. The problem, however, is the provision in the shutdown the rescinds special events permits, necessary for holding races.
When Amanda Garzon was making preparations to host the third annual Hydrocephalus Association 5k Run/Walk on September 29, she knew that many of the runners participating would not have a first- hand knowledge, or even an awareness of the disease. Many would be standing on the starting line on the mild Saturday morning in late September mainly because they were searching for a local, flat, and fast 5k race to include in their competition schedule. At the same time, however, Garzon, the Co-Chair of the race and the Director of Media and Marketing for the Hydrocephalus Association (HA), hoped that by drawing local attention to the HA cause, she could raise awareness and build support for finding treatment and a cure for the disease.
Garzon knows all too well about the impact hydrocephalus can have on lives. Her 13-year old daughter, Gabriela, has suffered from the disease since she was a baby, and has had 15 brain surgeries. Hydrocephalus, a condition characterized by the buildup of fluid in the ventricles of the brain, afflicts over one million Americans. Anyone can get hydrocephalus, at any age, and there is no cure. The primary treatment is the implantation of a shunt in the brain, a surgery with a high failure rate requiring repeated revisions.
(The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon will once again serve as the Visually Impaired Half Marathon Championships)
I don’t know how I want to write this.